Smith defends Trump prosecution as final Jan. 6 report released to the public

Special counsel Jack Smith defended his investigations into President-elect Trump in a final report released publicly early Tuesday morning, saying his determinations were free from political interference and that, if permitted to proceed, his cases would have likely secured a conviction.

Smith made the claims both in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and in the much awaited release of the election interference volume of his final report.

In his letter to Garland, Smith broke his silence on over a year of attacks from Trump, who accused Smith of being at the helm of a politically motivated prosecution. 

“The ultimate decision to bring charges against Mr. Trump was mine. It is a decision I stand behind fully,” Smith wrote, adding that Garland nor anyone else at DOJ pushed him to prosecute Trump.